BHOPAL: Enforcement Directorate teams raided multiple locations in India’s cleanest city Indore on Monday, in connection with a massive scam pertaining to fake drainage works bill at the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC). The estimated sum of the alleged scam which came to the fore a few months back may well run into over Rs 125 crores.The ED teams started the raids in the early morning at the residential and official premises of those involved in the alleged scam, particularly the private contractors whose firms are actively involved in the scam.According to official ED sources, the searches at multiple locations (18-20 locations) have so far led to the seizure of over Rs one crore cash, FDRs bank balances to the tune of over Rs 2.5 crore, besides various incriminating documents, property documents and digital devices.The ED is probing the possibility of money laundering by those accused in the case, including private contractors and IMC staffers. Importantly, the MG Road police in Indore, had a few months back registered multiple FIRs on the complaint of the IMC top brass.The FIRs were lodged by the city police based on the findings of an IMC probe panel which found that fake bills of drainage construction works which happened only on paper in various parts of Indore city (which is India’s cleanest city) between 2019 and 2023 were generated by a nexus of firms of private contractors and staffers of IMC, particularly those posted in the accounts and audit departments.According to Indore police sources probing the multiple FIRs, the works for which the fake bills were generated were not at all carried out on the ground and neither verified by IMC’s account and audit department staffers, before the payment of the fake bills was made to the firms.The alleged scam pertains to fake drainage works bills generated between 2019 and June 2023. The matter came to light, when the files of the alleged fraud went missing a few months back, after which the matter was reported to the Indore police.“Multiple FIRs have been registered in the matter which till now pertains to at least 48 fake bill files worth around Rs 64 crore. Against the Rs 64 crore fake drainage works bills, more than Rs 47.53 crore has already been paid to the firms. So far, 16 people have been arrested in the case and hunt is on to nab 6-7 others, who include audit and account department employees of the IMC,” a senior Indore police officer told this newspaper.While the multiple FIRs pertain to a sum of Rs 64 crore, as per informed sources in the IMC, the tune of the fraud could well be above Rs 125 crore.Reacting to the ED raids at the premises of those involved in the alleged scam, the Indore mayor and BJP leader Pushyamitra Bhargava said, “The matter was reported to the police by us only a few months back and we’re still digging deeper into it. Such crackdown by ED and police against the wrong doers is a welcome development.” Importantly, the IMC has been governed by the ruling BJP for over 15 years.
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